ELLIS 8

VERIA 59132
: 2331-502003
www.futurelibrary.gr

ZALOKOSTA 4
ATHENS 10671
. 2155-518150
[email protected]

Press Release
Thursday, 17th December, 2015
Future Library Unconference
In praise of collaboration
Presentations about state-of-the-art library services under the sounds of world music. Workshops for the
development of creative library activities. Praising the achievements of librarians and library community
members. Opportunities for discussion with leading and emerging personalities in the field. In this
framework, the 3rd Future Library Unconference, which took place in Thessaloniki, on November 27th-28th
2015, highlighted to 350 participants from 17 countries the value of collaboration among libraries in their
effort to empower local communities.
The Unconference opened with Balkan sounds of the music band Mimic. The choice of band was made a
point, as its members are daily users of the Veria Central Public Library Media Lab. The band is a great
example of the creativity that the new flexible and friendly Media Labs can help nurture. Media Labs in
Libraries offer innovative and creative services, such as recording, filming, 3D printing, co-working and
manage to bring closer the Gen-Y and the Baby Boomers!
The Balkan melodies were also a warm welcome to librarians from 11 countries in Southeast Europe, who
are members of the International Network of Emerging Library Innovations in the Balkan Region (INELIBalkans), a Future Library project supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The project aims to
establish a network that encourages knowledge exchange, collaboration and experimentation with new
services, through training, networking and innovation programs. In this framework, the INELI-Balkans
participants held their first convening alongside the Unconference in order to get inspiration from a wide
range of workshops, as well as to become familiar with Future Library network members and partners.
"In the beginning was the Word... and the Word for libraries today is Purpose said Filippos Tsimpoglou,
Director General of the National Library of Greece, as he revealed the organizations vision and strategy for
the coming years. Members of the Future Library team presented for the first time to a broad audience, the
actions entailed in the transition of the National Library of Greece (NLG) from the Central Valianeion
building, which has been its home since 1903, to the new premises at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Cultural Center (SNFCC). The Future Library team continued highlighting its collaborative projects: the
program From Research to Teaching, realized with the financial support of KIKPE; the project Journey to
the SNFCC; the activities taking place in the Media Labs which Future Library built in 10 libraries of its
network in 2013 and 2014; as well as Culture Shift: Technology Meets Art, a cultural hackathon organized
by the British Council in collaboration with Future Library and Google, at the Media Lab of the Municipal
Library of Ilioupoli, Athens.
With the generous support of the Committee for the Support of Libraries, the Unconference program was
enriched by distinguished library professionals from around the world. Knud Schultz, Director of the Main
Library in Aarhus, Denmark, discussed the strategy of his librarys transition to the new multifunctional
building Dokk1 as well as library organization issues, along with Filippos Tsimboglou and Gorana Tuskan
Mihocic, Director
of the groundbreaking Public Library of Rijeka in Croatia. Hannelore Vogt, Director of the Cologne Public
Library in Germany, presented unique library services that address the new generation of artists and
scientists and offered to Unconference participants tools and advice on how to develop such services with
FUTURE LIBRARY: INNOVATION CREATIVITY SOCIAL NETWORKS

ELLIS 8
VERIA 59132
: 2331-502003
www.futurelibrary.gr

ZALOKOSTA 4
ATHENS 10671
. 2155-518150
[email protected]

their existing resources. Carme Fenoll, Head of Library Services in the Catalan Government, Spain, illustrated
ways of bridging the distance between libraries and other sectors of the economy. Corey Wittig, digital
learning librarian for teen services at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, USA, stressed to librarians the
significance of mentoring the youth, in order for the latter to use library content and space effectively and to
remain engaged in library activities.
The experiential nature of the Unconference was once again felt through a large number of workshops. In
only two days, 12 skills-building workshops explored topics such as: reorganising the library space in creative
ways; engaging with new library partners; accessing/providing access to new digital editions; measuring the
impact of the library; organizing library workshops on robotics, astronomy, stop-motion animation, or even
setting up library wine tasting events that promote local winemakers! A considerable number of
Unconference workshops were dedicated to the actions of the Summer Reading and Creativity Campaign,
which this year was carried out by the National Library of Greece, taking the lead from Future Library.
In a crowded room, an enthusiastic audience engaged in the workshop Libraries helping refugees,
facilitated by Despina Garasimidou from Future Library, Muy-Cheng Peich from Libraries Without Borders
and Dionsis Kolokotsas from Google. The workshop focused on the question: What kind of services can a
library offer to refugees and how can these services be developed?. Showcasing dynamic examples and
providing breakthrough ideas for such services, this workshop had an effect not only on Greek and Balkan
librarians, but also on representatives from local authorities, NGOs and civic organizations from across
Greece dealing with current refugee issues.
In praise of collaboration, libraries become extrovert; they communicate, collaborate and co- create.
The Future Library Unconference 2015 ended in a festive spirit, with an even stronger network and
incentives for new projects, uniting diverse forces from the fields of knowledge and creation and asserting
its presence in Northeast Europe as a festival of learning, new connections and collaborative action!

Supporters
INELI- Balkans programme with the donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
National Library of Greece with the donation from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Partners
Committee for the support of libraries
Goethe-Institut Athen
Instituto Cervantes
The Nordic Library
Public Affairs/Information Resource Center, U.S. Embassy in Athens
Google
PressReader
Department of Library Science and Information Systems of ATEI of Thessaloniki
The Future Library Unconference 2015 was held under the auspices of the Municipality of Thessaloniki
We kindly thank the E.J. Papadopoulos S.A. for its generous sponsorship.

FUTURE LIBRARY: INNOVATION CREATIVITY SOCIAL NETWORKS

ELLIS 8
VERIA 59132
: 2331-502003
www.futurelibrary.gr

ZALOKOSTA 4
ATHENS 10671
. 2155-518150
[email protected]

More information:
Future Library Unconference 2015
Future Library
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For Press and Media: Natalia Katifori [email protected] | 2130317478 | 6972345289

Future Library is a non-profit devoted to reinforcing the significance of libraries as knowledge, creativity, and
interaction-promoting institutions. It was established in Veria in 2011, addressing the call of the Stavros
Niarchos Foundation to contribute to the development of a sustainable network of public and municipal
libraries across Greece. Key donors of Future Library are: the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the Welfare
Foundation for Social and Cultural Affairs (kikpe.gr), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the European
Union (Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Program).

FUTURE LIBRARY: INNOVATION CREATIVITY SOCIAL NETWORKS